Redefining the Imago Dei in the Age of Algorithms: A Dogmatic Critique of the Personification of Artificial General Intelligence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21724831Keywords:
Artificial General Intelligence, Imago Dei, Karl Barth, Personhood, Techno-AnimismAbstract
The rapid advancement of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has precipitated an ontological crisis within theological anthropology. As machines demonstrate generative capabilities to emulate human reason, emotion, and creativity, the classical substantive definition of Imago Dei—grounded in rationality—faces a fundamental upheaval. This study aims to deconstruct the phenomenon of AI personification through a Reformed dogmatic critique. Employing a qualitative library research method and an interdisciplinary approach (theology-philosophy), this research juxtaposes machine ontology against human ontology. The findings indicate that the personification of AGI constitutes a form of modern idolatry. By appropriating John Searle’s Chinese Room argument and Karl Barth’s theology of Analogia Relationis, this article concludes that the Imago Dei resides not in computational capacity—which machines can replicate—but in a unique covenantal capacity.
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